Lake and Mid's Daycare Adventures
by GamerLake
Summary: "What happens when two ordinary trainers decide to take on an abandoned daycare center?" Mature rating for strong language, sexual themes, and violence in later chapters This is a derivative fiction of the Lake n' Mid's Daycare blog Inspired by Megadeth42 Solaceon Daycare's Secrets
1. Chapter 1

_MID:_ _So I was thinking how much I fucking hate Cianwood._

_LAKE: Come to Olivine. We have beaches._

_ MID: You do realize the majority of Cianwood is beach_

_ LAKE: XD I know. _

_ LAKE: But seriously_

_ LAKE: I'm thinking of moving out of my Dad's place. _

_ MID: Is that a hint?_

_ LAKE: I'm probably going to need a roommate, and you said you wanted to work somewhere where you have plenty of opportunity to work on you comic book._

_ MID: it's a graphic novel_

_ LAKE: Sure. _

_ LAKE: But I heard there was a daycare center hiring near Goldenrod._

_ LAKE: You in?_

_ MID: hell yes._

* * *

"He had better not have missed the boat."

Lake paced back and forth across the dock, her footsteps loud on the wooden planks below. An apathetic looking Vulpix yawned and scowled as he watched his trainer oscillate in front of him.

"I mean, what if he forgot he was coming today?"

"Vul."

"But what if his alarm didn't go off? Or his Riolu didn't wake him?"

"Vul."

"But what if –"

"Vul."

"Is that really all you have to say?!"

The fire fox's ear twitched and his tails swished with irritation. "Vul, vul pix!"

The brunette sighed and flopped down beside her Pokémon. "I know, I know… Sorry, Renard."

Renard made a sound similar to a _tsk_ and turned his head away towards the bay. His ears pricked up suddenly and he leapt to his feet. "Pix!"

Lake looked up in time to see a ferry disappear behind the dock house. She pushed herself up and brushed the bits of salt and sand from her hands and pants. She was grinning widely as she pushed her lilac framed glasses higher up the bridge of her nose. "This is so exciting! Are you excited, Renard?"

The fox bit the inside of his cheek and turned his nose up in the other direction. Lake rolled her eyes at him. "You're never excited. I don't even know why I bothered asking you."

The door of the dock house opened, startling a few Wingull into flight. One by one, passengers began pouring out onto the dock. A few would stop to release a Pokémon or two from their poke balls before traveling down the dock towards the shore.

"Ra!" A Riolu leapt out through the door, turning back to wait for its trainer. A tall, lanky man followed, chuckling down at his Pokémon. "I'm coming, Cain, chill out." He readjusted the bag on his shoulder and began scanning the dock. Lake waved to draw his attention. The Riolu ran forward in excitement, agilely dodging through the crowd of trainers. He pounced towards the brunette, who threw her arms open and clumsily caught him, losing her balance and stumbling back. She chuckled. "Hello, Cain. It's nice to meet you too." She hugged the Pokémon close.

"Rio! Ri, Rio!" The fighting type grinned ear-to-ear as he jumped back down to the dock and scampered to his master's side.

He was a bit different than she had expected him to look. His skin clung tightly to his bones, which made it difficult to determine which dark patches were facial hair and which were shadows from his gauntness. His kipsie hat cast an even darker shadow over his dark eyes, which hid behind black framed glasses. Combined with the long coat he wore, he could only be described as 'sketchy as fuck'. "You're Lake, I take it?"

The girl nodded. "And you're Mid, I take it?"

"Chris, actually."

"Nope, you're Mid."

He laughed. "Fine. Shall we go?"

* * *

"This isn't what they advertised."

The daycare center was in fact _not_ what had been advertised in the hiring message. The house was in shambles; a few windows were cracked or completely broken, while the rest were covered in a layer of dust, and a few of the wooden shutters hung loosely from their hinges. The paint on the walls and fence was patchy and peeling, appearing in some places to have been clawed off by a raging Pokémon. The roof was similarly patchy, with shingles missing and scattered around the yard. The entire plot of land on which the center resided was overgrown with shrubs, trees and grass, and vines engulfed a quarter of the house. Sitting out front was a _For Sale _sign, which looked as filthy and withered as the house itself.

Mid let out a long sigh through clenched teeth as he dropped his bag to his feet to scratch the sweat from the back of his neck. "Well fuck."

"Riii…" The Riolu surveyed the area with as much disappointment as his master.

Lake dropped her bag and marched up to the front door, grasping the handle and pulling. The hinges creaked and hesitated before the door finally surrendered to an irritated yank, scooting open loudly. She wedged herself between the door and its frame and pushed it all the way open. "Whelp, looks like we need to fix the door…" she said as she dusted her hands clean.

"You can't seriously be considering buy this place still," Mid said. "I mean, just look!" He gave the mailbox by which he stood a gently push, and it toppled over. "This place isn't even safe!"

"It just needs a bit of work, is all. Come on, Me-man, where's your sense of adventure?"

He pointed down at the mailbox he had just broken. "Right fucking there!"

Lake rolled her eyes and turned to enter the house. The inside was dark and gloomy; luminous specks of dust floated in large clouds through what little light passed managed to infiltrate the nearly opaque windows. The paint peeled on the inside just as badly as it did on the exterior. Lake took a step forward, but then hesitated with a shudder and reached for the poke ball in her belt pouch. Her Noctowl appeared before her from a beam of red light. "Orilly, check for ghosts, please."

"Hoo!" The owl Pokémon's eyes began to glow and she took off, circling around the main room and disappearing down the halls. She returned shortly afterwards and with a hoot landed and began preening her feathers.

The brunette leaned back to shout out the door only to notice that Mid had taken their bags up to the porch and was standing about a foot behind her. "Fuck, don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, shoulda said something, I guess."

"Well, the good news is, no ghosts."

Mid took off his hat to ruffle his long unruly hair. "Well thank Arceus for that! That was my biggest fear."

Lake glared at him, unamused, until he just scoffed. "You know what I mean. Look, the inside looks just as shitty as the outside. How the fuck are we supposed to fix this place up?"

Lake noticed a light switch by the door, and she flicked it on. The lights flickered before the fluorescents finally kicked in, lighting up the entire room. "Look, the lights still work!"

"Lake, are you even listening to me?"

She began to investigate the room, followed closely by her Vulpix. Mid stood in the doorway, glaring into the room with disgust as his Riolu ran past him to help the girl. The front of the room contained a desk and a few tables, but down the hall into the back was the main part of the house. A couch, recliner, and a couple of cupboards were covered in sheets in what appeared to be the living room, and in the kitchen a few pots and pans hung above a dusty stove. Within the bedroom (there was only one), the queen sized bed consisted of only a mattress and a frame, and the dresser was covered with a sheet just as the furniture in the living room had been.

"Only one bed," Lake said, frowning. "Guess we gotta share it then."

"Not that I'm complaining about having the opportunity to sleep with you or anything, but this seriously can't work."

"Mid." The shorter trainer turned and sat down on the bed, looking up at her friend. "Just look around. Yeah, sure this place needs some work." A scoff from the man made her pause to let out a sigh. "Okay, okay, a _lot_ of work. But just look. We basically have everything we need to live. I'm sure the owner will lend us some tools; he seems like a nice enough guy. Plus we have our Pokémon to help us out."

"What the hell are a Riolu, a Larvitar, a Shuckle, a Noctowl and a Vulpix going to do?!"

Renard growl and shot an ember up in the air in Mid's direction. "Renard, don't do that!" his trainer scolded. The fox suppressed a growl before curling up and scowling down at his feet.

Mid sighed. "Okay… Just… How much do you think it will cost to fix this place?"

Lake bit her lip. "I dunno. It might be expensive." Seeing that her partner was about to protest, she hastily added, "But all new business ventures are!" He looked very unconvinced. "Pleeeeease? What if I promise to reimburse your investment in case of failure?"

Mid crossed his arms and stared down at the girl, trying to determine how seriously she was. After a few moments, he sighed. "We'd better call the owner then…"

"YES! Thank you, Me-man!" Lake leapt from the bed and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly and nuzzling against his chest. He rolled his eyes and patted her head. "But remember, you have to clean it, and walk it, and feed it, and—" He was cut off by the sound of shattering glass coming from the front of the house. Lake looked down to summon her Vulpix but was surprised to see that Renard was no longer there.

"The hell was that?" Mid walked briskly out of the room, followed by Lake and Cain. In the foyer they found one of the windows shattered, a bit of purple bolts of energy dancing across the jagged edges of glass. "Orilly, what happened?!" There was a hoot from behind them, proving that the owl Pokémon had been in the back room the entire time. Lake ran through the front door in time to see her Vulpix shooting a spray of embers towards the fence. They landed just short of fence, setting the grass ablaze. Lake sprinted over to the flames and stamped them out before they spread. "Dammit, Renard, what the hell is your problem?!"

The fire fox snarled into the shrubbery on the other side of the fence, his mouth glowing from another ember heating up. Lake scooped up her Pokémon and hugged him close. "What's gotten into you?" He growled for a bit, but eventually his anger subsided to a simmering glare.

Mid ran down from the porch. "Just got off the phone with Mr. Gold. He's on his way." He turned to look at the charred patch of grass and the furious Vulpix. "The hell happened here?"

"I dunno. Renard just flipped out. I thought maybe Orilly had broken the window with a shadow ball, but—"

"Orilly was in the back. I let her out when you went into the bedroom."

"I know." She held her Pokémon close to her, staring off in the direction Renard had raged. There were a few moments of silence before Mid placed his hand on her shoulder, startling her out of her daze. "Are you sure you still want to buy this place?"

Lake stared up at him, chewing on her lip as she pondered that thought. Finally, she smiled and nodded.

* * *

"And you're all set," Mr. Gold said as he stacked his papers flush. "I really appreciate you guys picking this place up so quickly. Ever since Grandma passed, Granddad has been… well, pretty bad. He closed down the daycare, and just completely let this place go."

"It's ok. When we saw your ad, we expected it to be functioning, though." Lake shifted nervously. "We were surprised to find it… neglected…"

"Ah, yes… sorry about that…"

Mid cleared his throat, scratching his face. "Just one thing. Earlier today, the house was attacked by a Pokémon."

"Oh? What kind?"

"Well, we don't know," Lake explained. "We were in the back when we heard a crash, and when we got back, the window was broken. My Noctowl knows shadow ball, so I know what that looks like."

Mr. Gold ran his fingers through his black hair. "Granddad never had a Pokémon like that, as far as I know. It might be a straggler Pokémon that has made its home here while the house was empty. Which reminds me—" he went to a green truck in which he had arrived and popped open the trunk. He withdrew a large glass container and set it down to collect another. Inside both sat an egg, one cream colored with rosy spots, the other a cloudy grey. "Shortly after Granddad died, I came here to make sure everything was ok. When I checked the egg infirmary, there were a bunch of spoiled Pokémon eggs. These were the only two that survived." He smiled apologetically. "I'm often busy with work, so I don't have the time to raise a couple babies. I figured you two would make better use out of them."

Lake took the container housing the spotted egg from the man, holding it close to her chest and observing its fragile contents. "What will it hatch into?"

"I believe these two came from a trainer who was visiting from Hoenn. I had contacted him to see if he wanted them, but he didn't seem to care either way. If I'm not mistaken…" he picked up the container with the grey egg. "Ah, yes. This is a Castform, I believe." He nodded in Lake's direction. "That should be a Spinda."

Lake's hazel eyes lit up in excitement. "A Spinda?! I _love_ Spinda!" She smiled and nuzzled the glass dome. "Ahh, I wonder what it will look like… Will it have a mask of spots or maybe a heart on its forehead…"

Mid chuckled. "I would love to have a Castform, to be honest. They're cute, and having a Pokémon that can affect the weather would be useful."

Mr. Gold smiled and passed the egg chamber over to Mid. "Thank you so much for taking them. It was really devastating when I saw that so many eggs had rotted…" He turned away, a forlorn look on his face. Lake and Mid shared an uncomfortable look. The man coughed, and smiled apologetically again. "Well, that should be it. If you need any other help, you have my number. Just be sure to give me some time, since I'll be travelling from New Bark."

"We will," Lake said with a grin, resting her chin on top of dome of the egg chamber.

"Yeah, and thanks again," Mid said with a nod.

They waved goodbye to Mr. Gold as he climbed into his truck and drove away down route 34. When he was out of sight, Mid sighed. "I can't believe you talked me into this."

"Aww, c'mon. It'll be worth it."

"For _you_, maybe. How the hell am I supposed to work on my novel if I'm constantly busy with this dump?"

Lake surveyed the area with a quick glance. "Meh. It should be fine. It'll be a lot of work at first, but once it's fixed up, you can work desk duty and I'll take care of the Pokémon. Then you'll have plenty of time!"

Mid sighed again. "Fine. But what now?"

Lake smiled. "Now we get to work!"


	2. Chapter 2

Getting the house and yard to be somewhat presentable was a task that lasted a little over a month. In that time, the two new daycare owners had managed to fix the air conditioning, the windows, the shutters and the doors, as well as repaint the walls. They had nearly burned down the place in an attempt to quickly remove most of the shrubbery within the gates. Luckily, they had fixed the pipes beforehand and were able to use the hose to extinguish the flames. Unfortunately they had been unable to fully control the fire, and had accidently incinerated the bushes and grass as well. Despite this, Lake remained completely optimistic, and while he was still apprehensive, her positive attitude began to rub off on Mid.

The total yard space was relatively small, all things considered. The plot of land was three times the size of the house, with a third of it being consumed by the house itself. The remainder of the land was either the burned plot of land or consisted of a tool shed and an incubation room, neither of which had been investigated.

It was something Lake in particular had tried to put off going into the incubation chamber. She could imagine how Mr. Gold had felt when he had to clear out the dormant eggs, and despite the fact that it was now empty, she anticipated that her vivid imagination would fill in the vacant shelves with the horror of abandonment and neglect. However, once the field was cleared and the house relatively repaired, she knew it had to be done.

"You sure you want to clean it?" Mid asked, pulling off his hat to fan himself with it. "I mean, I can totally do it, and I'm sure the tool shed isn't too difficult to handle."

Lake smiled. "I'll be fine, I promise. Besides, I'm probably going to be the one taking care of it once this place is up and running."

Mid opened his mouth to object, but decided against it and shrugged. "Alright. Whatever you're comfortable with. Just shout if you need me." He turned and crossed the field over to the rusting iron shed towards the back of the house, leaving the female trainer in front of the incubation chamber. She sighed and looked down at the Vulpix by her feet. "You'll keep me company, no?"

Renard was not listening. He watched Mid carefully as he walked away, and once the man had disappeared he hastily scuttled into the chamber. Perplexed, Lake followed.

Flicking on the lights, Lake was surprised to realize that the incubation chamber was probably the most well-kept amenity of the daycare. With the exception of the dust, everything was fairly clean; there was no sign of the place ever having been used. The wooden floor was cover with a thin layer of straw, and a pile of soft hay rested in the back. Lake walked over to it and picked up a handful. It smelled sweet and soothing. "Huh…This must be like a birthing area… What do you think, Renard?"

She turned and found her Vulpix half crouching in the middle of the room. His tails flicked and he was panting heavily, cooling saliva dripping from his gaping mouth.

_Fuck_.

She had completely forgotten about the date. Being in late May, it was nearing the end of breeding season for Vulpix. And having been preoccupied with the daycare, she had neglected to focus on her Pokémon's…needs. But this was certainly no time for that now. She took a hesitant step backwards, raising her hands in defense. "Renard… Not the best ti—"

She was cut off as the fox pounced at her, knocking her backwards into the hay. She gasped in surprise, grasping the Pokémon gently around his waist. "R-Renard, the door…"

"Vuuul," he purred, running his tongue along her neck. His saliva left a chilling tingle wherever it touched. The coolant was an evolutionary advantage that helped fire types avoid harming their mates during procreation. It really came in handy when trainers wanted to have a bit of 'fun time' with their fire type Pokémon.

She shuddered as the fox continued to coat her neck with his coolant, slowly trailing lower to her chest. Lake blushed slightly, beginning to pant with each flick of his tongue. Renard passed over her top and started trailing down her stomach. When he reached the belt line of her shorts he took it into his teeth and gave a gentle pull, unable to open them alone. The brunette chuckled and with trembling fingers popped open her button and unzipped her pants. The Vulpix backed up a bit as she wiggled the shorts and panties down to her ankles, kicking them aside.

The lustful tod wasted no time in satiating his hunger, diving into her crotch and burying his muzzle into her snatch. She gasped at the cool touch of his tongue against her lips, and she bit down on her bottom lip to remain quiet. He opened his mouth wide as he ran the broad side of his tongue over her clit, soaking her mound in his spit. A breathy moan reverberated deep in her throat and her breast began to heave, her face hot with lust. She chewed on her lip as her hazel eyes dropped down below the fox's legs. His member had extended from its sheath and the knot had begun to bloat. She stared longingly at his sex; it was bright red and hot with anticipation.

While she was distracted, Renard took the moment to prepare his trainer's pussy for mating, plunging his tongue deep inside her. A cry escaped her lips and she leaned her head back, savoring the chill of his tongue inside of her. He swirled it around and dug it deeper, pressing his open maw over her mound. She pulled up her tube top, her breasts bouncing as they were popped out from the bottom. She squeezed the mid-section together and stuffed it in her mouth. She cooed into her makeshift gag as her Pokémon worked his rapidly within her.

At long last the Vulpix pulled away from her and climbed closer. While the shaft itself was not very impressive in length or girth, it made up for this with its knot. The cock twitched slightly, releasing a wave of heat over her entrance. She shivered with anticipation and panted heavily, sweat beginning to bead on her forehead and chest.

With a voracious snarl, Renard slid inside, his hips immediately thrusting swiftly against her. She gasped and whimpered as the warmth from his member filled her. His knot bounced against her entrance and left a fiery tingle around her lips with each thrust. Lake rested her hands around his waist to hold him in place as he pounded his master's pussy, tight from being ignored for so long. He kept his eyes locked on her face tentatively, watching each twitch of her cheek and every curl of her lips. His breath was cool against her chest.

His tails swayed rapidly with each thrust, and his hot sack tapped gently against her rear, cushioned by a thick layer of fur. Her pussy began to expand a bit more as his bloated knot pushed harder and harder into her entrance. He finally a strong shove and squeezed his bulb inside her.

Lake threw back her head and shouted, her body growing tense as she was filled with his burning sex. He continued to thrust into her, harder and faster with each moment. The Vulpix grunted his name under his breath again and again, a glob of saliva dripping from his gaping maw. The combination of his heat and rapid pumping of his cock along with the look of ecstasy that flooded his face with each croon of his name sent waves of pleasure pulsing through her body. She could feel the excitement building stronger and stronger with each passing moment, and as it bubbled up into her chest she lolled her head back—

"Lake!"

She gasped in shock as the door to the incubation chamber flew open, revealing an anxious looking Mid. He leaned against the door frame and was grasping his arm as his words caught in his throat and choked him into silence. He stared gaping with wide eyes at the scene before him.

The Vulpix did not even hesitate. With a few more thrusts, he locked himself inside her by burying his knot as deep as possible, his head tipping back to let out a long sigh as his steaming seed was dumped deep with her. He finally collapsed upon her chest, panting heavily and giving the slightest thrusts.

Lake and Mid's eyes were locked in a shared look of terror. Lake's teeth dug into her lip as her heart pounded anxiously. How was she supposed to explain this? There was point in lying; it could not be more obvious what had just happened.

Finally, Mid took in a shaky breath and let out a dry cough. "U-um… y-you look a bit… ya…I'm just gonna—" he pointed over his shoulder with trembling hands before clamping his eyes shut and turning away, letting the door slam shut behind him.

There was a moment of deafening silence in the chamber. It was interrupted by the whimpering of the fox Pokémon on Lake's chest. He was looking up into her eyes, guilt clearly displayed on his face. She stroked his head gently. "Shhh… it's alright. It's gonna be ok…"

* * *

Mid was flustered. Never had he experienced something like that; of course he had heard rumors around the forums about trainers who had sex with their Pokémon, but he had never thought it to be real or even something regular people did. But then there she was…

"Riii!" Cain was sprinting to catch up with his trainer. He could sense his master's anxiety, and was not entirely sure what had caused such a sudden shift in his mood. He skid to slow himself as he pulled up beside his trainer and walked in step with him, looking up at Mid's distraught face. "Rah?"

He had been spacing out while walking, still unable to clear the image of his housemate being slammed by her Pokémon. He jolted from his daze and turned to his Riolu. "Sorry, Cain… a bit distracted…"

The aura Pokémon cocked his head and gave his master a worried look. _M…M-master? What is it?_

He caught himself before doing a double-take at his Pokémon; it was not often that Cain created a mental link with telepathy. He knew it caused some strain on the young Riolu's mind, so whenever Cain chose to speak with him it was usually because he sensed something strong. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it, you'll give yourself a migraine."

_I don't believe you. Please tell me… what did you see?_

The man felt his innards twist anxiously. Mid did not want his friend to know what had happened for fear that he would think it would be done to him. He did his best to keep a relatively straight face and did not respond. He heard an irritated huff from the Riolu as he entered the house and made his way to the front desk. He sat down heavily and immediately placed his forehead against its cool surface, removing his hat and sliding it into the corner of the table. From beside him he heard the Riolu whimper softly, and a pain of guilt stabbed into him. At last he sighed and turned his head to see his Pokémon. "I'm sorry, Cain."

Cain rested his chin on his trainer's leg and looked up questioningly with his big amber eyes. _For what, Master?_

"Sorry I was so grouchy. I just…I don't want to talk about it."

The Riolu frowned and absentmindedly rubbed Mid's leg. _Ok… You just seem so…upset? Is that the word?_

Mid smiled and nodded. He leaned over and lifted Cain into his lap, holding him tightly. What should he do now? He was fairly certain this was illegal. Even so, Lake had not seemed to be taking advantage of her Pokémon… if anything, the Vulpix had been taking _her_. Were Pokémon even able to make such a decision? He caressed the young fighting types head gently. Cain, who had been playing with some pens, looked up. _Yes?_

"I just… How intelligent are Pokémon?"

_What do you mean?_

"Like… can they make important decisions?"

Cain thought for a moment, putting down the pen . _I think so. I guess it depends on the Pokémon._

Mid sighed. "Can they… consent?"

_Consent?_

He hugged the Pokémon close to him and nuzzled the top of his head. "Never mind."

"Hey…Mid?"

A wave of nausea washed over him as he looked up to see his business partner standing awkwardly in the doorway, her Vulpix beside her. She smiled almost apologetically before clearing her throat. "Um, I was wondering if I could talk with you – "

"Lake."

He could not look at her anymore; instead, he was stared down at his puzzled Riolu. "I…I can't deal with you right now…"

There was silence that followed, a silence so heavy that it was nearly suffocating. After a few minutes he heard Lake sigh. "O-ok…." She whispered with a trembling voice. He did not look up until he heard her footsteps disappear into the yard. When he did finally lift his head, his eyes met the russet pair of Renard. "V-vul, Vulpix. Vul-Vul…" Having said his piece, he turned and scurried off to his trainer, leaving Mid thoroughly confused.

_He's sorry._

Mid shook his head to clear his mind. "Wh-what?"

_He said he was sorry. And he doesn't want you to blame Miss Lake._ Cain gave the tall man a concerned look. _What did he mean by that? What did Miss Lake do, Master?_

He stared out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of the short, curvy woman he had grown to consider his closest friend. "I'll talk to her later."


	3. Chapter 3

Lake sat in the dimly lit kitchen alone, nervously fidgeting with her fingers. Mid had said he wanted to talk with her, but she was not sure how such a conversation was going to go. Her heart was pounding so fiercely that she was almost positive that it was audible to the people of the bustling city of Goldenrod a few miles down route 34. She swallowed the knot that had tied itself in her throat.

She heard a door click shut quietly, and she leaned back to look past the wall to see that Mid was coming towards the kitchen. "They're all asleep," he whispered as he eased himself into the chair.

"That's good."

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence filled only by the sound of her own rapidly beating heart before her anxiety had twisted her innards too much. "I'm sorry!" she blurted out, slapping a hand over her mouth when she realized just how loud she had spoken.

Mid looked up at her, surprised. "Lake…"

She bit her lip and chewed nervously. "Chris, I…I should have told you. But I was scared… Not everyone takes kindly to pokephiles, and –"

"To what?"

Lake took in a deep, shaky breath. "Pokephiles. People who have sex or are aroused by the idea of having sex with Pokémon."

"There's a name for that?"

She nodded. "A surprising number of people are pokephiles. Just not all of them are having sex with their Pokémon."

Mid ran his fingers through his long, wavy hair; with it pulled out from its band, his hair made him look nearly akin to an Entei – if Entei did not already have straight hair. "Isn't that… you know…" He glanced sideways at her; it was obvious that he was horribly uncomfortable. "Illegal?"

She felt her gut twist askew again. "Technically… yes. Some people – or rather, _most _people – argue that Pokémon aren't capable of giving proper consent."

"Can they even?"

"Actually, yes. Well… most can. Pokémon under level 10 are typically considered inept to do so, as well as baby Pokémon." She rubbed her shoulder and shrugged. "Though that doesn't stop people from evolving their Pichu with a good fuck."

Mid frowned and sighed heavily while anxiously rubbing the back of his neck. "You, umm… you haven't…?"

"Hmm?" Lake cocked her head slightly, but seeing the twisted mixture of fear, disgust, and dread in his eyes was more than enough to tip her off. "Oh! No no no, I have not done _anything_ to your Pokémon! I've only had sex with Renard."

His brow furrowed. "What about your Noctowl?"

"Orilly? She's not into that. I offered once, and she wanted nothing to do with it. So I never bothered her with it."

"So…you don't have sex with just _any_ Pokémon…"

Lake rolled her eyes. "I'm not a rapist. The only reason Renard and I started was because he walked in on me fappin' one time."

"And?"

"Well, I mean, I was embarrassed. My best friend just saw me doing some inappropriate things to myself. So I stopped. But then… yeah. So that happened. And now we just sort of help each other out."

Mid rested his face in his hands. "So what do we do now?"

A pain of terror stabbed through her as Lake's heart rate, which had lowered during her explanation, once again spiked. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Lake, we can't run a daycare with you sexing up the clients!"

Lake gaped in disgust, boiling hot rage bubbling up within her. "Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not some sort of animal, Chris! I have control. Were you not listening to anything I told you?"

Taken back by the sudden outburst, Mid leaned away from the spitting fury of the female trainer. He raised his hands up as if to keep her at bay, but Lake knew he would never fight her even if she did attack him – and nor would she ever let her anger bring her to hurt a friend.

"Lake, I'm just saying that if people hear that we're having sex with Pokémon, they won't trust us. Just think of what it will do to the business!"

"Well how is anyone going to find out about it unless you tell?"

"We have security cameras!"

"_We _are the only ones that view the tapes!"

"What about inspections? I'm sure Mr. Gold said something about auditors."

"Why the hell would the –"

"Raaaah."

The two trainers fell silent as they looked up towards the entrance to the kitchen in unison to see a very concerned Riolu staring at them. He was rubbing the sleep or tears from his eye with his paw, but which Lake could not tell. Mid swore under his breath as he hastily got up and scooped the young Pokémon into his arms. As he sat back down, the aura Pokémon looked teary-eyed at Lake. _Please stop fighting, Miss Lake…_

Her eyes grew wide as she slowly comprehended that the voice had come from Cain. "Y-you can talk…"

"It's telepathy," Mid said matter-of-factly as he caressed his Pokémon's arm and back with all the loving care a father would provide to a frightened child. "I'm sorry that we woke you, Cain. Lake and I were just… having a talk."

_But Master, what is going on? I can feel the fear and hurt in Miss Lake's aura…_

Lake carefully rose to her feet and went to kneel beside Mid's chair. "Hey, shh, shh…" she whispered in a soothing voice. "It's ok, Cain, don't be scared…" She rubbed his head gently, running her fingers through his dark fur. The Riolu sniffled, tears threatening to overflow from his great amber eyes. "I did something…. Well, I guess you could say it was bad. But it made Chris scared. And that's why we were yelling."

_Miss Lake, what did you do?_

She smiled, almost apologetically. "Just know that I won't ever do it to you."

Cain blinked away his tears and sniffled again before turning away to nuzzle up against Mid's chest. He held the young Pokémon tightly to his chest for a moment, then nodded at Lake as if to say he needed to move. She stood and returned to her seat while Mid carried his Pokémon to the bedroom to tuck him in again.

After a short wait, he reemerged empty handed, looking up at the brunette girl as he quietly shut the door behind him. He approached her and leaned against the archway leading into the kitchen. "You're good with Pokémon."

"I-I'm sorry?"

"Don't be. I can tell, you really were worried about him, but you stayed calm, and he could sense that. You put your emotions aside for the Pokémon's sake. There aren't too many people who get that."

Lake sighed and ran her fingers through her short hair. "That's the thing. Pokephiles usually are more connected to Pokémon than the average trainer. It's because we're more intimate with them."

"But Renard is a Vulpix. A completely different species; I mean, they aren't even the same type."

"Pokémon are much like people, Mid. They dream. They have goals. They feel pain and sorrow and happiness just as we do. They love and they hate; they have love lust and they have blood lust. And each one is unique. They all have different personalities. In most cases, they are no different than us, and we are no different than them."

A silence fell between them. Mid staring at the floor with his brow furrowed in concentration. Lake watched him for a bit before finally sighing. "Chris."

He looked up at her, jarred from his thoughts.

"I would never pursue a Pokémon that has explicitly shown to have no interest in me. I would never even _think_ of sexually touching a baby Pokémon like Cain. I'm not a monster." She shrugged. "I just happen to like having sex with Pokémon."

Mid shook his head. "Shouldn't that be some sort of thing that evolution would have bred out of us? I mean, we can't procreate with Pokémon, can we?"

"I think humans and Pokémon have different sets of chromosomes. The only thing I worry about are possible diseases, but from what I hear those are super rare to come by. Like… Humans contracting Pokerus. I don't know if that's actually realistic. Mostly I worry about human-to-Pokémon viruses." She paused for a moment to let the tall male absorb the information before continuing. "Listen. I'm not saying you have to try it. But if you're worried about the business, this might actually be a good thing. You've heard of Sinnoh's daycare in Solaceon, right?"

"I've heard of it, yeah. Why?"

"You know why it's so prosperous, right?"

Mid blinked at her for a moment before his jaw dropped. "No… They don't!"

"They do. Hell, the owner is huge in pokephilia porn."

"You've gotta be shitting me."

Lake sighed and stood up. "Boot up your computer. I'll show you."

* * *

"_Sorry I'm late, Whitney. You didn't start without me, did you?" _

"Is that…" Mid stared at the computer screen, the lenses of his glasses reflecting the image of a tall nude man with a wild mane of brown hair. In front of said man was the petite, pale figure of a woman with strawberry red hair; beside her was a Miltank, her legs spread invitingly.

"Yup." Lake stood next to him, arms crossed over her chest. "You'd be surprised who is involved in the porn industry."

"But…she's a gym leader! How is she able to do this?"

"Becaaaaaaaaaaaaause this is a whole underground thing. Pokephiles hold a convention, where people and Pokémon from all over get together and just fuck each other silly. And, as you can see, they also do professional shooting of pornography."

Mid was simply staring at the screen, his mouth hanging open. He scooted his chair closer in towards the table as his face began to flush deeply. The soft moans of the Miltank hummed through the speakers.

Lake shifted uncomfortably as she leaned forward and clicked on the pause button. "So yeah. That's Solaceon's daycare's manager. And they are still the most successful daycare around. They're huge, and unless you are looking for it, no one knows their secret."

Mid swallowed hard. "Ok… But I'm still not too cool with fucking random Pokémon. What if we get caught?"

Lake leaned forward and smirked at him slyly. "What do you mean, 'we'?"

The tall man opened his mouth as if to say something, but shortly afterwards closed it.

Lake's grin grew wider as her hazel eyes twinkled with amusement. "You like pokephilia, don't you, Me-man?"

He turned to face her. "That is complete and total Tauros shit. And also completely accurate."

Surprise stabbed through her. "Really? So…you're not mad at me? And you're not turning me in?"

"Lake, I never intended on turning you in."

A bit of relief washed over the brunette. "Oh thank Arceus… I was so scared…"

Mid pulled her toward him and wrapped his arms around her. "What would even happen if I had? Just out of curiosity…"

She tensed up. Her whole body filled with fear as she pulled away. "They…They would take my away my trainer's license… and my Pokémon. They might even put Renard down because he is accustomed to sexual relations with humans…"

Mid sighed. "Well fuck. We won't have to worry about that."

Tears welled up in Lake's eyes as she threw her arms around him, holding him tightly. Startled, Mid lightly patted her on the back. He cleared his throat and rubbed her back gently. "Laaaaake… it's late…"

Lake had relaxed almost completely against him. She had exhausted herself with worry, and the late hour had finally taken its hold on her consciousness. Mid shifted beneath her weight. She groaned in protest. The tall brunette rubbed her back and bit the inside of his cheek. "Lake," he whispered. After no response, he sighed heavily. "Lake, I can't pick you up…"

She did not move, though. With a final sigh, he looped an arm under her legs to fold them and turn her so that she sat in his lap. He then rocked himself forward to stumble to his feet. After readjusting his grip, he carried her into the bedroom and with a bit of effort managed to turn the handle with his elbow and open the door.

The room was filled with darkness, and the little light that leaked through the open door did nothing to help illuminate his path. But the room was small, and as long as he did not step on Renard's tails he was perfectly safe. When he made it to the bed, he had to nudge Cain over to lay down the sleeping woman. Immediately she rolled over and enveloped the little aura Pokémon in her arms. Mid sighed as he pulled a blanket over the two resting beings and quietly slipped out of the room.

* * *

The room was absolutely silent. He was sitting in the dark, his headphones strapped over his kepi and over his ears. His hand, which was placed over the track pad of the laptop, trembled a bit nervously. _If Lake wakes up, she'll never let me live this down…And Cain… _He shuddered and swallowed the hard lump forming in his throat as the even more frightening thought occurred to him. He could feel the blood rushing through his ears (among other places) and the wisps of hair that normally curled freely from his temples were glued to his head from the sweat that had begun to bead there. He anxiously turned to look behind him, but was only greeted by the gloomy and silent living room. With a sigh he returned his attention back towards the screen, but as soon as he saw what was displayed on it his body froze again. _This is wrong… It has to be. I mean, look at it. It's… got four… _His mind trailed off as he tried to comprehend the matter. Here he was staring at boobs. Or a boob. He was not entirely sure of the number of mammary glands present here. And it was on a creature he had grown up associating with his morning bowl of cereal. But now he was finding himself experiencing a completely different feeling towards this… cow. His cock, which was pressing hard against the inside of his jeans, twitched irritably as it demanded to be let out. With his left hand covering the bulge, he simply stared at the paused video of Whitney and her Miltank (and that one daycare owner from Sinnoh, apparently).

Muffled by his headphones, he heard the faint rustling of something moving behind him, and his entire frame shook in fear as he whipped around in his seat. As he did so, his finger brushed against the track pad…

"_Give it to the little bitch harder."_

A shudder shot down his spine as he whipped his head back around to face the screen. The frozen image of the Miltank bent over her normal type gym leader was suddenly in motion before him, all of the sounds associated with the cow Pokémon being roughly fucked from behind while her mistress dives her fingers into her own cunt suddenly filling his ears. He was caught off guard by this; he had not intended on playing the video, even while he was still deciding whether he wanted to actually yank to it. But here before him was the image of a man plowing into a Miltank while a gorgeous red head fingered herself, and the sounds of the loud moaning and soft _slap_ as the man's front met the cow's lush, plump ass over and over again…

It was starting to hurt. And he was not about to sit through the pain any longer.

Throwing caution to the wind, he hastily fumbled with the button on his pants. He quickly pulled it open and pulled down the zipper, his throbbing member already spilling out of the fly of his boxers. Which, when he thought about it—but who was he kidding; he did not give a damn at this point as to what it was that had been causing the sharp pain in his shaft. Not even bothering to pull off his pants, he firmly grasped the erect member and pulled. His breath caught in his throat as his senses were flooded with excitement, which only made his stroking come more rapidly with each beat.

This section of the video did not last long, however. The man and the gym leader had been caressing and sucking on the teats of the cow Pokémon, who apparently seems to be overtaken with ecstasy. Her face twisted into a perfect 'O' as her orgasm gripped hold of her. The two trainers, who were still tugging at her udders, suddenly had their thirsty mouths filled to the brim with the streams of milk that squirted from her. Soon afterwards, the man's body tensed as he lurched into the pink cow out of rhythm, and Mid watched in delirium as the surprisingly tight cunt on the bovine began to leak his hot gunk.

Mid continued to stroke, his breath rattling in his throat even as the Miltank's moos of pleasure died down. It was what was happening next that really kicked him into overdrive.

The soft, creamy ass of the normal type trainer was positioned up in the air, wiggling slightly. He could feel the heat from his arousal flooding through him; that gorgeous ass was only about an hour's walk from him, and despite the fact that he was staring at the screen of a computer just knowing how close this dirty linoone was to him was nearly enough to send him over the edge. He bit his lip as he jealously watched the daycare manager slowly feed his still pulsing cock into her perfect ass. _God, Whitney was perfect. If only she had purple hair…_

The scene took an unexpected turn as the brunette took hold of his partner's hair and used it for leverage as he rammed her rear repeatedly. The Miltank had now positioned herself in front of her master, who hungrily was slurping up the concoction of human and Pokémon spunk. The sharp _snap_ of flesh meeting ass rang in his ears with each thrust. At long last he felt his loins tighten as his cum shot out from him, splattering over his shirt and the bottom of the table. His head fell back as rubbed out his orgasm, another heavy load spurting out and dumping onto his pants and the tile beneath him. The cries and moans in his ears were growing more excited by the moment, but he had exhausted himself too quickly. He leaned back as his strokes tugged more and more slowly at his deflating member until finally it stopped all together and sat limply in the chair. Mid gasped for air as his boney chest struggled to keep pace with his pounding heart. After a few moments of panting, he lazily paused the video, plunging himself into silence. With a grin, he favorited the video and closed out the window.

Sitting up was a bit of a chore. His mind was still stirring from his climax, and he was a bit stiff from sitting in the hard chair. He reached over to grab a few napkins to clean himself up, but after noticing just how much cum was plastered on his clothes he decided that wiping up his member, the table and the floor would be good enough for the time being. He would just need to hide his soiled clothes from Lake until he had the chance to wash them.

After wiping up as much of the sticky goo as he could, he stood and turned around to toss the napkins in the trash behind him, only to find himself face to face with a large Noctowl. He froze under the owl Pokémon's stern gaze. "Ummm…Hello…" he said, his voice mixed with fear and embarrassment.

The Noctowl said nothing and only continued to stare with her large, unblinking eyes.

Mid swallowed the knot growing in his throat. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Lake's Noctowl; ordinarily she tended to do her own thing and leave them alone. But now that he was so close, he felt horribly threatened. He cleared his throat. "Hey… uhh… I just… You didn't see all of that…did you?" Her silence only made him more terrified. "Of course you did… L-listen… Lake doesn't need to know about this, ok? I'd never hear the end of it from her… and I promise I will never do anything to you. I mean…" his voice trailed off as the large owl leaned in close to him, her sharp beak just centimeters from his nose. All five feet of this massive bird just loomed before him. His voice caught in his throat as a choked off scream.

The Noctowl hooted and bumped her beak against his nose, nearly causing the bushy maned brunette to soil himself in a completely different way than he already had that evening. By the time he had recovered from his flinching she was already at the sliding glass doors that lead to the back of the house. She turned to give one last look at him before flying outside and sliding the door shut with her psychic; even though her expression had not changed, Mid could have sworn he saw a hint of amusement glisten in her eyes.

He stood rooted to his spot, mouth gaping at the empty space before him. Finally, he rubbed his eyes and shook his head, sighing. "I fucking need to sleep…"


	4. Chapter 4

The following morning was rather interesting for Lake, to say the least. She woke up to find herself spooning the little Riolu who she had reassured platonicness the previous night. A twist of anxiety and guilt spiraled through her as she tried to recall whether she had done anything to the young aura Pokémon; finding that she could not remember such an event, she sighed and found herself worrying about Mid finding her in such a predicament. As much as she wanted to recoil away she feared waking him, so instead she found herself rolling out of the bed and nearly falling on top of the Vulpix with whom she had mated. Luckily, neither Pokémon was woken up by her clumsy escape, and she managed to exit the room without any extra embarrassment.

The sight that greeted her in the living room was no less strange. Sprawled out on the couch was Mid, his clothes in a bundled up pile on the floor beside him along with a blanket. His right arm and leg hung limply over the edge of the couch while his left leg was swung over the back. Lake stared at her housemate in confusion for a moment, half amused by the position in which he chose to sleep, but upon noticing that the fly on his boxers was gaping wide open and that she had a clear view of all of Mid she had not wished to see she turned and briskly marched down the hall towards the front of the building. She was not by the front desk for long before she heard the crashing sound of breaking glass. It jolted her from her flustered demeanor, and she quickly ran out to the front yard.

The window of the incubation shed was shattered, along with much of the wall around it. Small bolts of purple energy scattered from the destroyed sections and the debris below. Lake stood in the yard, gaping. She had just cleaned up the inside of the building the day before, and she had planned on calling a mechanic to check the power box on it and get it running again today. The destruction only served to cause her heart to sink lower into her chest cavity.

The soft _whoosh_ of feathers through air jarred her from her stupor as she looked up in time to see her Noctowl land beside her. The owl Pokémon was staring at the building with a concerned look.

"Orilly, did you catch what happened?"

"Hoo." She turned her head towards her master. _I did not._

Lake sighed and ran her hand through her hair, crying out in frustration as she began to pace in circles around the yard. It had been about a month since the initial attack, and she had thought that they were in the clear. But whatever it was that had shot out the window of the house when they first moved in had clearly been angered by something and was now stirring up trouble again.

The front door of the house flung open and a very drowsy Mid stumbled out hastily. "What happened? Are you ok?"

Lake paused for a moment to stare wide-eyed at him before flushing brightly and turning away. "Dammit, Chris, put on some pants!" she screamed before storming across the yard to better survey the damages to the shed.

Mid blinked after her for a moment before realizing that he was, in fact, nearly nude. His greater concern was the Noctowl that stood staring at him with stern eyes. As the brunette girl stomped past her, he was reminding just how enormous the bird really was, as she stood even taller than her adult trainer. His heart nearly stopped as the owl launched herself towards him and stood before him; lacking the leverage of the kitchen counter she was clearly nearly a foot shorter than him. However, her glistening beak, sharp talons and somber eyes were enough to terrify him into insomnia. He flinched as he felt her beak gently rest against his nose, and after an agonizing moment of stillness the Pokémon took off after her trainer with as much agility and grace as she had the night before. Lake had caught most of the exchange while she turned back to face her indecent companion. She shook her head at his bewildered demeanor and gave the large owl Pokémon a puzzled look. Her only response was an expressionless gaze as the great bird landed silently beside her. She shrugged and continued towards the shed.

Shattered glass was scattered around the structure. Lake, who had run out barefoot, was stopped by the sharp beak grasping the collar of her shirt just before she pierced her foot on the sharp debris. She stumbled backwards and placed a hand on the Noctowl, rubbing her fingers over the sleek outer feathers of the owl's back. She was two feet, maybe even three, from the shed, but the glass was sporadically thrown through the grass before her; she could only imagine the damage done to the inside of the building.

Up close, she was able to see the true extent of the damage. Not only was the window pane completely destroyed, but the wall around the hole was also bore open. Through the charred wood and bent metal frame she could see the wires that ordinarily allowed the individual egg chambers to incubate were completely fried. Although the damage was restricted to the area around the window, Lake felt that it was detrimental enough to shut down the egg shed, setting their daycare operations back for who knew how long. "Fuck," she whispered. "Just….fuck."

"How bad is it?"

Lake turned in time to grab her partner before he stumbled equally barefooted into the minefield of broken glass. He smiled sheepishly down at her.

Lake sighed. "I have no idea. But it looks awful."

Mid leaned forward for a closer look at the debris. "What happened?"

"Dunno. Another shadow ball, I think."

"What the fuck."

Lake turned and stormed back into the house. She slammed the door shut behind her, nearly smacking her partner in the face as she had not realized he had followed her. She threw herself into the chair behind the reception desk and pulled open a drawer from which she withdrew a book.

"What is that?" Mid asked, squatting down in front of her on the opposite side of the desk.

"An almanac of Johto," she explained as she opened the back cover of the book and began scanning the index.

"A what?"

The short brunette, having found the page she needed, began flipping towards the middle of the book. "It's…" She paused, trying to think of a sensible analogy. "It's kinda like a paperback pokedex, but it has information about other stuff, not just Pokémon. And what it does tell you about Pokémon isn't a lot. It basically tells you what Pokémon are found where." She continued to flip through the pages of the book.

Mid was silent for a bit before responding. "So you're thinking it's a wild Pokémon."

"I can't think of what else it could be."

"No, it makes sense. None of my Pokémon know shadow ball, only your Noctowl knows it and she hasn't been doing it. And I doubt it's someone else's Pokémon, since it keeps happening."

"But it hasn't happened in a month."

She heard a chuckle from across the table. She looked up with to see the tall brunette's face twisted in amusement. She furrowed her brow. "What."

"Maybe Mew caught you and is punishing you for your sins."

She rolled her eyes. "In that case, Mew would be punishing you as well, wouldn't it?"

There was absolute silence from her lanky friend, and she raised an eyebrow with a wry smile at him. Mid's face was beat red, his eyes wide in shock. Catching her eye, he turned away and mumbled something about an owl under his breath. Lake frowned. "What about Orilly?"

Mid blinked at her. "Did she not…" A bubble of anger rose in her gut as she snapped the almanac shut loudly. "What did you do to my Noctowl."

"Nothing, nothing!" Mid cried as he leaned back, his hands up defensively. "I didn't touch her! I promise." Lake glared suspiciously at him. She slowly opened the book, her eyes locked on him. Ordinarily she would not have cared, but this situation was different. For one thing, it had been Mid who had made her promise to not touch his Pokémon, and it would be downright hypocritical for him to fuck one of hers not even 24 hours afterwards. But a more pressing issue to her was that she knew her Noctowl was not one to indulge in sex with humans. She had offered once…Once. And she had nearly lost a hunk of her shoulder from her attempt. She knew Orilly would never allow something like that. But she also trusted her friend, and let her suspicions slide as she returned to her search. Finally she came to the section for Route 34; she found the daycare, which was still marked as owned by Mr. Gold. To the right of the page was a boxed off section labeled "Local Wild Pokémon". She quickly scanned it, and then finding what she needed turned the book and pushed it towards the intrigued man across from her. "Look." She pointed to the image of a fat yellow and brown monster with a short trunk for a nose. Beside it was a thinner yellow creature with a collar of fluffy white fur; a yo-yo like object dangled from its hands.

Mid stared at the images, briefly skimming the sparse bit of information that accompanied them. "You think it's them?"

"I really fucking hope not. But they're psychic types, right? They should be able to learn shadow ball."

"You don't like them?"

Lake sighed. "Do you know about Hypno?"

Mid shook his head. "They don't frequent Cianwood. I've never lived outside of the island, so I've never come across them." He shrugged. "Why?"

"You haven't even heard the stories? Those fuckers are known to stand over your bed and eat your dreams. And sometimes kids go missing in areas they inhabit…"

Mid frowned. "That might be a coincidence. They live in wooded areas, right? Kids get lost in the woods all the time."

Lake shuddered and shook her head. "I have no idea, but I don't trust them. "I'm just glad I'm too old for them to prey on…"

"They just prey on kids?"

"They prefer them."

Mid shrugged. "Well, my Larvitar will eventually evolve. Then we'll have a dark type to protect us."

"Mid, Larvitar won't gain a dark typing until like level fifty-something-or-other."

"It'll be fine. One of our Pokémon is bound to learn a dark type attack. I mean, between the two of us we have five Pokémon now. You have an egg, and I have an egg, so that will make seven." He stood up and stretched. "Don't worry, Lake, it'll be fine."

Lake chewed on the inside of her cheek nervously as she gazed back down at the almanac. The yellow psychic type stared menacingly back at her and despite being frozen in time on the page she felt it was almost taunting her with its outstretched arm and swaying medal. She folded the corner of the page and closed to book, slipping it back in the drawer from which it came.

"So what now?"

She looked up to see Mid staring at her expectantly. Her mind was blank for a moment, but she finally rearranged her thoughts and reached back into the desk drawer. She withdrew a thick, yellow book. "I guess we get back to work.

* * *

"I dunno what you all were doing." A bulky, bearded man wiped the sweat from his brow as he stood to face the anxious daycare owners. "But hell, did you fuck this thing up."

The knot forming in Lake's gut twisted even tighter. "You can't fix it?"

"Well, I can fix the structure, but you're gonna need an electrician to get this thing running again. Unfortunately until these wires are fixed it would be stupid to close up the hole." He took some notes down on a clipboard that had been resting beside him. "You know what happened?"

"We've been getting attacked recently," Mid explained. "It happened once or twice when we first moved in, then we didn't have another problem for a month."

Lake fidgeted nervously. "This morning I heard an explosion and when I came outside…" she gestured to the damaged building. "Well, this had happened."

The man pulled off his straw cowboy hat and fanned himself with it for a moment. Under the midday sun all three of them were sweltering. His grey work shirt was soaked in sweat, and once again he wiped the perspiration from his eyes.

Mid frowned. "You want some water, man? You look like you're about to pass out."

"I'm fine, really. But yeah, water would be great."

As Mid headed back towards the house, Lake continued. "The first couple of times we thought it was a shadow ball. It looked just like it. You see, my Noctowl knows it, but I know she hasn't been doing it. She was always either in the back of the house or with one of us."

"Hmm."

Lake took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. "We were thinking that maybe it was a Hypno or something."

The man reached for a ball that was strapped to his belt and plucked it off. "Well, you're in luck, I guess."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

The sound of footsteps behind her told her that Mid had returned. When she turned to look at him she was also greeted by Cain, who was cautiously trotting beside his master with his eyes glued to the ground; he only looked up for a moment to smile at the woman. Mid handed a glass over to carpenter. "Here ya go, Mr….?"

"Hawke. The name's Jack Hawke. I got the lady's name when she made the appointment, but I never caught yours."

"Chris. You can call me Mid, if you want. Everyone else seems to."

"Sure." The man named Hawke pressed his thumb on a button on the Pokeball, and it instantly grew in the palm of his hand.

"Oh! Be careful, there's glass everywhere."

"I know." He threw the ball towards the middle of the yard, well away from the debris. It burst open and released what appeared to be a mythical God, having a mostly humanoid body and the head of a dog. The ball flew back and he nonchalantly caught it. "That there's Mako. She'll help us figure out what's been attacking you."

Mako gazed calmly at them from across the field. She was short, maybe even for her species standards, and perhaps a bit more slender as well. Her hips did not jut out as much as a regular Lucario's, or at least not the ones Lake had ever seen. Her spikes glistened in the sunlight, and her amber eyes, while serene, were alert to her surroundings.

"Mako, I threw you out there 'cause there's glass all over the place. When you come over, be careful not to cut yourself."

"Rah." She closed her eyes and for a moment was completely still. The sensors hanging beneath her ears began to levitate and tremble, and with amazing grace she swiftly picked her way through the grass. Each step was almost like dancing, and the two daycare owners could only gape at her. When she had successfully made it to her master's side, she opened her eyes and looked up at him expectantly.

Jack rested a hand on her head. "Good girl. Now I need to you trace the aura on this window. Something blew it out, and we need to know what it is."

She nodded and stepped up on the ladder that was propped against the building. She rested a paw on the wall beside the window, and once again closed her eyes.

There was silence among the three humans as they waited for the aura Pokémon's answer. Finally, she opened her eyes and turned to them. _I cannot pick up the exact species, but I can tell you it is a dark type._

"A dark type?" Lake asked, surprised. "Are you sure?"

_I am most positive that it is indeed a dark type. The attack itself is a ghost type one; Shadow ball, I believe. But the Pokémon that did this is purely a dark type Pokémon._

"But how?" Lake scanned her memory of the page in the almanac. She had focused solely on the terrifying image of Hypno, but from what she could recall there were no other land-based special types in the area, apart from the occasional Krabby or Kingler that may have crawled up from the bay, or maybe an Exeggcute that had fallen from a tree. "I don't think there are any dark types around here, and neither Mid or I have one."

_Perhaps it is a Murkrow that is playing tricks on you._ The dainty Lucario hopped down from the ladder. _ There are too many footsteps and mixing auras in the area to tell right away the exact culprit. If I had more time, I might be able to pin point an odd aura, but at the moment I am not familiar enough with those of the residents._

"Maybe another day," Jack said. "I've got another appointment to get to. Say goodbye, Mako."

The Lucario bowed her head politely. _It was a pleasure meeting you both. We look forward to doing business with you again._ With that, she was returned into her Pokeball. Jack replaced the ball on his belt and looked up to address the two brunettes before him. "Get an electrician to fix the wiring, and give me a call." He nodded at Cain. "You might wanna think of training that one more. If you are dealing with a dark type, he'll probably be your best bet."

Cain blinked at him, a bit surprised that he was addressed. He shyly gripped the leg of Mid's pants.

Mid smiled down at the little aura Pokémon and scratched the back of his ear comfortingly. "We're working on it. Baby steps, you know? The move was a bit hard on him, and there's been some stuff, but he's hanging in there."

"Good. Well, I'll be seeing you then."

"Wait!" Lake stopped him as he was about to walk past. "What do we owe you for this?"

"Nothing. I didn't do anything but inspect that damage. Mako's services are free too." He placed his hat back on his head and handed her the empty glass of water. "You aren't even open for business yet. Save your money for the electrician. With the looks of the damage, you'll need it." He tipped his hat and crossed the yard to the gate. He grabbed another Pokeball and released a Staraptor, which gripped his shoulders in its talons and lifted off, heading towards Goldenrod City.

"What a weird guy…"Lake mused aloud as she watched them fly off.

"Well, he was nice enough, giving us a break like that. And his Lucario was a sweet heart."

Lake grinned. "Yeah. I wonder if he'll leave her with us sometime." She felt her partner give her a gentle shove, causing her to laugh. "Kidding, kidding!"

_I don't understand._

"Shhh, Cain, I'll tell you when you're older, maybe." Mid leaned down and picked up the Riolu. "We gotta get rid of this glass somehow."

"Larvitar can't eat glass?"

"No, they can't fucking eat glass, you little shit."

"You're just full of piss and vinegar today!" Lake laughed. "Ok, I guess I'll call the electrician. Maybe we can get one here today. Then I'll try to get as much of this glass out of here as possible."

"Sounds like a solid plan. I've got some heavy gloves in the tool shed I think. I'll get them for you."

"Thanks."

Mid handed Cain over to Lake, who cradled him in her arms and rubbed noses with him. He giggled and gently pawed at her face. Mid smiled. "Maybe Renard would be up to babysitting."

"Oh yeah, his favorite thing." Lake rolled her eyes. "I can ask. If not, I'm sure Orilly wouldn't mind."

"I can always ask my Shuckle as a backup."

"'k." Lake turned to head back to the house, but paused. "Mid?"

"Hmm?"

"You have a Shuckle?"

Mid blinked. "Yeah. Why?"

"I didn't know you had a Shuckle."

"He usually stays in the that…relevant?"

Lake shrugged. "No, not really. Shuckle are good at making juice. I was just thinking about future endeavors."

"You're gonna juice my Shuckle?"

She turned to see her partner grinning at her, an eyebrow raised. She blushed. "I…you know what I meant!" And with that she stormed off to the house, leaving Mid to laugh at his own dirty joke.


	5. Chapter 5

The tool shed rested under the protection of several oaks and elms. Despite the looming limbs of the trees, Mid had found that the shed itself was in wonderful condition, albeit a bit rusted. He had inspected the exterior and interior the day before, and had found that its greatest flaw was the scattered tools within and the overgrown weeds surrounding it. He pulled the door hard and with a bit of difficulty was able to pry it open wide enough to slip his slender body inside.

The inside of the shed had no light and the shade of the trees obscured the rays of sun. Mid stepped carefully around overturned steel buckets and slanted wooden planks. Towards the back of the shed stood a wood saw tilted towards the floor, and in front of it was a pile of wood shavings and scattered hay. The mound came up to the middle of his thighs and rested just beneath a metal work bench; upon the table lay two ratty, thick work gloves, both of which were a washed out grey color. The slim brunette man attempted to step over the mound of shavings, but he stumbled and stepped right down the center of it.

Beneath his foot was a loud _crunch_, and he froze for a moment. He looked down while slowly withdrawing his foot. He took a step back and leaned over to peer down the hole in the debris. He could not see anything, but his curiosities had gotten the better of him, and so he squatted down to sift through shavings. What he found surprised him.

Eggs. Or rather the shells of them. His brow furrowed as he picked up a yellow stained piece and turned it carefully in his fingers. The opposite side was mostly brown, with just a speck of tan near the top. A webbing of dried embryonic fluids clung to dust, dirt and splinters on the underside of the shell pieces.

_Where did these come from?_ He wondered, reaching into the hole and withdrawing more pieces of shells. They all seemed to be part of the same egg; some had more brown than tan, and as he wiped his thumb over the lighter parts he noticed that the tan was more of a cream color. _Cream and brown? What Pokémon is that color?_ He thought for a moment. Perhaps it was a Zigzagoon? He remembered that the two surviving eggs that had been gifted to him and his partner were from the Hoenn region. Maybe these were from Hoenn as well.

From behind him came a scratching sound on the floor. He turned slowly, and to his horror he saw a slender black shadow slipping through two large wooden shelves, a ring of light staring right at him. He fell backwards onto his rear. He scrambled to his feet and nearly tripped backwards over the pile of sawdust. Bracing himself against the table, he cursed himself for not carrying at least one of his Pokémon with him. The dark shadow slinked its backside up from the floor and took a step forward; claws scraped against the dust-covered metal floor, sending chills down Mid's spine. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he couldn't find his voice to scream for help. Suddenly the shadow was staring up at him with two blood red eyes, eyes that for a fleeting moment mimicked his terror but quickly pierced through him like furious daggers. The beast growled at him, its black lips curling back to reveal plaque coated fangs.

Mid trembled beneath the beast's stare. His mind flooded with the images of eyes: wide ghastly eyes that stared him down and loomed over him, tying him down to where he stood. With a blink of his eyes they were gone, only to be replaced by the old shed and the monster before him. _Wh…What just happened? _He shifted away from the mound as the dark shadow took a step towards him. He grit his teeth in fear, his arms and legs trembling slightly. The beast before him was small compared to him; it stood about two feet tall in its crouched position. The ring on its forehead glowed brightly at him, and he soon noticed seven other rings: one on each at the base of each of its legs, one around its tail and one around each ear. Its eyes were sunken into its skull and combined with their color only seemed to add to its already haunting appearance.

Suddenly the beast opened its mouth; a sphere of dark energy began to grow before it, and with a flick of its head was shot towards Mid. He leapt just in time to avoid most of the blow, but was nicked on the shoulder and stumbled to the ground. He looked up in time to see the dark Pokémon charging another shadow ball. He sprawled to his feet to avoid it and bolted for the door of the shed.

The moment his fingers made contact with the door, he froze.

He gasped.

_What…Wh-what is going on…?_

He flexed his legs and pushed with all his might against the door…or so he thought. Despite all his strength he could not move the door. He pulled away and turned his back to the door, pressing with all his might. Just as before, he froze. His eyes widened in terror and his breath quivered in his throat as realization finally sank in.

His body wasn't paralyzed. He couldn't escape.

_Mean Look._

"Umbreon…"

The shadowy beast's ears pricked up at the mentioning of its name, its red eyes wide with alertness. Mid pressed his back as close against the door as he possibly could. "Y-you're the one who's been attacking us. But…why?"

The Umbreon turned to face him and took a defensive stance, crouching and baring its teeth. With a snarl, it bound forward with its mouth gaping open. Paralyzed by fear, Mid stared wide-eyed as the Umbreon sank its teeth into his shoulder. The pain brought him to his senses and he flailed about, trying to throw it off. He lost his balance and fell onto his back, the dark type's fangs still buried in his shoulder. It began to bite in succession; with each penetration the lean gangly man could feel bone clash with tooth. He screamed out and squirmed as he tried to pry Umbreon's mouth open with his free hand; the pain from the bite paralyzed his wounded arm and caused him to flinch constantly. His desperate cries rang within the metal walls of the shed as his heart slammed within his ribcage.

"Raaaaaaaaa!"

Umbreon suddenly released its hold on his shoulder and was suddenly thrown from Mid. He flinched one last time turning to see a small blue and black Pokémon standing beside him. Mid blinked and tried to sit up. "C-Cain?"

_Master, don't move. You are badly hurt._

"Cain…it's strong…don't want…you to get hurt…"

_I will not allow her to hurt you any longer Master!_

"Wh-what? Her?" He turned his head towards the dark type as she stood to her feet. She turned with gritted teeth, her blood-colored eyes flashing a mixture of fury and fright. "It's…a female?"

Cain leapt over his trainer, standing protectively in front of him. Mid's heart twisted in his chest. "C-Cain, no!" He reached forward and put his hand on the young Pokémon's shoulder. The Riolu shrugged him off. _Stay back, Master. I will protect you with my life!_

The brunette watched in horror as his young partner lunged at the dark eeveelution as she pounced in turn. She snapped her jaws as a diversion before swiftly tearing into Cain's arm. A thin streak of blood trailed from his arm where the Umbreon had bitten him, and he quickly recoiled while holding his wound. Again the opposing Pokémon snapped at him, missing once and striking once. A yelp escaped the small fighting type.

"Cain!" Mid pushed himself up as best as he could as he watched his friend get attacked over and over again. He frantically sat up and braced his wounded shoulder with his other hand. "Cain, dodge it!"

The Riolu bounced back as he narrowly avoided the fangs of his opponent.

"Force palm!"

His paws glowed and as the Umbreon lunged forward again he buried his fist into the dark type's underside. Her cry caught in her throat as the wind was knocked out of her. She fell back and slid across the floor, but swiftly returned to her feet. Her eyes held surprise for a moment before she pounced again.

Mid grit his teeth nervously. "Keep doing it! Don't stop!"

The emanation Pokémon intercepted the Umbreon with another swipe of his glowing paw. With each snap of her teeth he countered with a force palm. The eeveelution began to yield to the abuse before jumping out of the Riolu's reach. She growled and stared him down.

Mid anxiously looked about, trying to find something that he could use to aid his partner. His eyes fell upon a toppled crate, a few Pokeballs spilling out of it. He struggled to slide over to the crate, wincing at any movement of his shoulder. He stretched his fingers and rolled a ball towards him. As he picked it up he noticed a large crack in the top, one large enough to nearly split it in half; but it was empty and the pained yelps of his Pokémon made him desperate. He clicked the middle button to activate the ball and threw it. The ball made contact with the Umbreon just as she knocked Cain onto his back and sank her teeth into him. The ball opened and enveloped the dark type in red light before sucking it inside.

The Pokeball snapped shut and shook once.

It shook twice.

And shook once more.

Finally it came to rest, the dim glow of its button fading softly and extinguishing. Mid stared in silence, his breath held back. When the capture finally registered in his mind, he immediately dragged himself to Cain, who was still lying on his back and panting from the battle.

"C-Cain…" His arm shook as it tried to support his weight. "Cain… are you ok?"

The little fighting type panted, bruises and tears blemishing his skin. It peeked at him through a squinty eye and grinned weakly. _Yes Master… I-I am just glad you are alright…_ With that, he closed his eye and went limp, his breathing slowing and quaking.

Panic shot through Mid. "Cain? Cain, wake up!" He shook the Riolu. "Cain, please!" He heard his name called from outside of the shed and he pushed himself to his feet, scooping his partner up into his arm. "Lake!" he cried, throwing his weight against the door. It flung open as the force of his body pried it free of its rusted restraints. "Lake!"

"Mid! I can't fin—" Lake rounded the corner and came to a halt, covering her mouth as she took in the two before her. She stifled a scream as she stared at them in horror. "Oh sweet Arceus, what happened?"

"Lake, I know what's been attacking us…" Mid stumbled, pain searing through his arm. He winced as he tried to cradle his injured Pokémon in is arms.

Lake's eyes darted from her partner to his Riolu, eyes wide with fear. "It attacked you."

"It's ok…I got it…" He stumbled, only avoiding collapsing because of Lake grabbing him.

"You need help. And so does Cain." She looked around and shouted "Orilly! Come quick!" From behind the house the Noctowl flew over the roof, landing beside the pair of trainers. Lake pried Cain from Mid's protective arms and carried him back to the house, leaving Mid alone with the owl Pokémon. He leaned up against her, his head reeling with pain. "O-Orilly… What is she…"

The Noctowl enveloped the lean man in her wing, nuzzling his head gently. Her head turned quickly back toward the house as the short brunette scrambled back with not only the young aura Pokémon but a couple of harnesses as well. She gingerly placed Cain on the ground beside them and quickly began to secure the harnesses to the owl; one she strapped to her back, the other hung below. "Orilly, do you think you can carry them both? I don't know if Mid will be able to walk to the hospital."

The giant brown bird nodded, and gave Mid one last nuzzle before folding her wings and allowing Lake to strap her partner into the hanging harness. Once he was secured, she lifted Cain and strapped him to the Noctowl's back. "I'll meet you at the Pokemon center, ok? Go!" And with that, she nodded and launched herself up into the air, her flight faltering slightly as she attempted to adjust to the extra weight. Once she was steady she smoothly towards Goldenrod city.

Lake watched them until they were out of sight, and then scrambles back to the house to lock up. On her way out of the gate, she nearly collided with a man standing outside and peering questioningly into the yard; beside him sat an adorable pink sheep with a long striped tail that ended in a ball of light. Upon seeing her, his face lit up. "Hey, this is a daycare, right? I was hoping I cou—"

"I'm so sorry," she gasped, running past him. "Emergency! Please come back another time!" And with that she bolted down the road.

The man, bewildered, turned to his Pokémon. "Wonder what's up with them."

The sheep blinked and bleated "Flaaaffy," in response, and then turned as a Renard ducked under the gate and trotted past. "Flaa! Flaaf, flaafy?" the sheep inquired. Renard looked up and swished his tails before chasing after his trainer.

The man and his Flaaffy looked at each other, puzzled. Finally, he shrugged. "Oh well. Guess we'll have to come back another day. C'mon, Flaaffy."

"Flaa."

The two walked silently down route 34 towards Ilex Forest, intending on relaxing in the shade of the trees and pondering the craziness of the daycare owners.


End file.
